Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-01-08

ninety-six hours, and if not Immediately
followed by a north wind, we have a season
Ct our fine Montana winter weather. The
grass begins to grow a little.caps, over
coats, oTershoes, mitseas, and all other IN
dications of winter vanish, and we have,
perhaps, weeks of fine, wa.m, sunny
weather.
There is a great difference in the EN-
perature of chinook winds, soma never
getting above 40 degrees. in which eases
the taking OF of the sn0N is Of course
much slower. And then the chinook will
at times .freeze up'-that is, after it has
been blowing just long enough to get the
snow all wet, the wind will suddenly
change to the north and freeze the wet
snow into ice. 1t takes a good long chi
nook, and q good warm one too, to clear
off the range when it gets into this con-
dition. Fortunately this is a rare occur-
renee.
While we have no such surprises in our
sufnmer weather, it is bynomeans without
its peculiarities. Last summer, for several
days, the thermometer registered temper
atures at from 106 to 10 degrees at Fort
Benton. We believe thai this point. with
its difference of 40 degrees between its
coolest winter and warnest summer
weather, must show q greater range Of
temperature than any other in the Unit
ed States. While our summer days may
be so very hot. the nights are cool, and we
often get freezing weather nearthe mount
aims very late and very early-that is, in
June and in August. For moisture, we
run to extremes, as we do liz temperature
and velocity Of wind. When it is dry, it
is so dry for so very long, and when it does
come wet it is very wet-or seems SO, at
least. 1t has rained more in some months
than it has in other entire years.
This strange Inconsistency, which we
see in the weather aud in the plant and an
imal world, seems to exist in a still more
striking manner in our population. Mon
tana is the last ground, in the northern
part of the country at all events, where the
last scramble for the possession OF new
territory is producing II of those strange
whirlwinds of heterogeneous emigration.
Into this last "storm center" of population,
I people have been and are being drawn
from north, south, east and west-a
condition that has existed in no other new
territory. In early days, the Missouri riv-
CT brought all the way from Missouri and
the extreme south, a good contingent of
southerners, black and white. Later, and
early in the sixties, the gold excitement
caused q flow of "Forty-niners" from the
Pacific, that gave a large population from
the west. They were followed by the
stock1nen with their Mexican and Spanish
stock. and range customs and traditions.
Besides the legitimate emigration from the
north. which has been quite large, we
have had no end Of good" Canadians who
first enlisted in Her Majesty's service in
the east as mounted policemen, and then
after getting free transportation to the
Northwest Territory have deserted-run
across the line and helped to swell our
population. This method of getting west
shows economy and great ability at plan
ning-yery desirable qualities in emigrants
and has been largely practlced heretofore.
OF late years, however, since the compile
- rI MI E3~sG ,n.lr~~ or,r
chief emigration has been of the orthodox
kind-straight from the east-and the Gus
toms and people of the east, that is OF the
northern tier Of states, are rapidly super
seding all others.
It would be no very strange sight even
vet. however. for a traveller in riding across
the country to come suddenly upon Mead
ow Brook Farm quietly nestled among
the hills upon a beautiful little stream.
The farmer pulls up his blue jeans with a
hitch. throws his five dollar English or
perhaps Mcclellan tree saddle, which
weighs ten pounds, upon a two hundred
American or "~states'' horse-pulls up and
buckles the cotton girth-pulls his hat
down securely upon his head, sticks his
brogan through the bright plate stirrup,
gathers up his halter rope, takes a turn
around his finger OF the horses name, and
swinging himself into the saddle touch
es the horse with his whip and trots away
out upon the prairie to find his work oxen,
which he drives in and places in the barn
yard.
The traveller moves a couple of miles